Crystallization Behavior of PEO in nano-structured PEO-b-PS/PPO blends

Blends of poly (ethylene oxide)-b-polystyrene (PEO-b-PS) diblock copolymer and poly (2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) homopolymer were obtained by solution blending, and the morphologies of PEO dispersed nanoparticles in PPO/PS matrix were observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The isothermal crystallization kinetics was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscopy (POM). Nonisothermal crystallization kinetics was studied using DSC. The results showed that PEO segments were easier to crystallize in the blend than in the copolymer probably due to the interfaces of PPO acting as nucleation sites to promote the crystallization of PEO. The crystallization of PEO blocks destroyed the pre-existing microdomain structure even though the glass transition temperature of the matrix was much higher than the crystallization temperature.